


Shaping a Shifter

by MoonCat163



Category: Loki Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Don’t copy to another site, F/M, Loki helps OFC with her powers, OFC not in control of her powers, Shapeshifter, Thor doesn’t know what a skunk is, Tumblr: imagine-loki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:54:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26650108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonCat163/pseuds/MoonCat163
Summary: Piper is part of the Avengers team, and has a hidden talent that she’s afraid to develop and use. Loki has been watching her for a while now, and is drawn to her.  He knows her secret and offers to help her.
Relationships: Loki (Marvel)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	Shaping a Shifter

**Author's Note:**

> From a request on tumblr to a mutual writer, whose requests were closed. I went proactive and wrote this for the requester, who said it was their birthday. I can no longer find the original Ask, though.

When the quinjet landed at the pickup point, the tired Avengers slowly trudged up the ramp, dropping gear bags onto the floor, and then sank gratefully into seats. No one spoke, with several of them simply leaning their heads back in order to close their eyes and relax. 

Piper, the most recent addition, took a seat in a corner and shakily fastened her seatbelt. She didn’t consider herself an Avenger, per se, as she was more part of the support team, helping with electronics and such. 

Once she’d finished with the belt, she propped her feet onto her own small bag and then studied her shaking hands. IT had happened again, and she was terrified that someone had seen or discovered her secret. She was so consumed with her frantic thoughts that she didn’t notice when someone sat across from her. 

“Are you injured?”

Her eyes met those of the speaker, which sent another wave of terror through her. Loki held her gaze while he waited on her reply. 

“No, no, I’m fine,” she murmured, after putting her hands under her thighs in order to hide the trembling. She knew that Loki could see through any lie, so she hoped that he wouldn’t call her out while in the middle of a crowded quinjet. 

His emerald eyes continued to hold her gaze, and one of his eyebrows quirked ever so slightly. Piper knew then that he’d caught the lie, and she waited for the inevitable. Finally, he took a deep breath and smiled slightly. 

“Rest. We’ll be home soon.”

— —

Once back at the Tower, Piper immediately headed toward her room, wanting to avoid the inevitable gathering of others while they raided the kitchen and hashed over the mission. Before she could get too far, though, Loki stopped her. 

“Piper.” He walked past her in the hallway. “Come with me.”

“Sir?”

“Come along.” He didn’t turn back, he just assumed that she would follow. 

“I’m really very tired, and…”

Loki did stop then, and looked back at her. From his expression, she realized that it might be in her best interest to obey. She started to tremble again, but managed to walk toward him, where he put his hand in the small of her back to gently propel her forward. Piper stumbled when he led her past her own room and to his spacious apartment. He rarely invited anyone in...come to think of it, no one but Tony Stark or Thor had ever stepped foot in it, to her knowledge. 

“Now,” Loki crossed his arms and studied her. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, truly. I’m just tired…”

“Please stop lying,” he replied, gently interrupting her. “A shapeshifter cannot hide from another shapeshifter.”

“I don’t know what….” she stammered, eyes wide with fright. 

“You do,” he said, softly. 

“I can’t control it!”

Her outburst caught him off guard, so he put his hands on her shoulders and shook her slightly. Piper stared at the center of his chest, a bit shocked that he had touched her. Loki didn’t like to be touched unless absolutely necessary, and he rarely touched anyone else unless it was during a mission or fight where he had to remove someone from danger. 

“Why would you want to hide your gift?”

 _“Gift,”_ she practically spat. “My parents didn’t think it was a _gift._ They treated me as a _freak-_ “ Piper’s voice broke with a small sob. “They drove me out of my home—“

Loki watched her, wanting to do more than just shake her. He’d developed feelings for the young woman over the last couple of months, but was hesitant to act on them. He didn’t want to open himself up to any jests or ribbing from the others, especially from Stark or his brother. 

So, he watched her from a distance, only approaching when he felt she needed help, such as during training. He’d offer some advice, then move away, with her scent filling his senses. He could feel the warmth exuding from her skin, and it drew him to her. Piper was also a clever little thing, and her instincts had saved someone from injury several times. It was too bad that she throttled an important part of her.

“It is a gift,” he assured her. “You don’t have to be afraid to use it.”

“You don’t understand,” she whispered while tears gathered in her eyes. “Sometimes I can't change back—“

“I can help you,” he told her, shaking her once more. “But you’ll have to trust me. Can you do that?”

Piper looked at him then, noting that he had a soft smile for her. She slowly returned it, noting that his eyes got a bit brighter. 

— —

“Are you ready?” 

Several months later, Loki deemed that Piper was ready for her first public appearance in a shifted form. He could tell that she was nervous, but also excited for it. After months of working with her, he’d taught her how to change forms consistently, but more importantly, how to shift back to normal. 

During that time, he’d fallen for her hard, but still held his feelings back, being uncertain whether she felt the same about him. 

“I think so,” she breathed, before taking a deep breath. 

“Remember: concentrate.” He tapped her nose, and surprised her with a soft kiss. 

Then she surprised _him_ when she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him firmly. His arms went around her waist and lifted her off her feet so that he didn’t have to bend down so far. Her lips lingered against his before she drew back slightly to gently smooth a tendril of hair away from his face. 

Loki smiled at her, causing her to giggle softly. He normally didn’t care for grown women who giggled, but he liked everything about her, which excited him for their future. 

“Alright. Get to it, and I’ll be along shortly.”

Piper gave him two thumbs up before slipping into the hallway. Loki stayed where he was with the door open so that he could listen. 

— —

Tony, Thor, and Steve were in the kitchen making sandwiches when Tony noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head and went absolutely still. 

“How the hell did _that_ get in here?” He asked, softly. 

“Wha-at?” Steve also turned to see.

“Ah, it’s a cute little Midgardian animal,” Thor said, taking a step closer to the creature. 

“Be still!” Tony told him. “It’s a skunk!”

Thor wasn’t fully familiar with Earth animals, so he didn’t see what the fuss was about, but Tony urged him to step back from it. As he did so, the animal waddled toward them. At that point, two grown men jumped onto a counter to get out of reach. Thor remained on the floor, not really seeing the danger in the pudgy black and white animal.

“Jarvis, call building maintenance. We need to get this animal out of here, and fast.”

“Of course, sir.” The AI replied. “They’re on their way.”

“What’s all the fuss?” Loki came down the hall, and stopped abruptly when he saw Tony and Steve on top of the kitchen counters. 

“The animal,” Thor pointed and shrugged. 

“I see.” Loki walked further in before scooping it up into his arms. “You’re afraid of this?”

“You two need a crash course on animals here,” Tony told him, incredulously.

Loki chuckled as he stroked the skunk. “I don’t think that will be necessary. Well done, pet.”

With that, he set the skunk onto the counter beside him, then Piper changed forms so that she sat beside him. Thor laughed at the trick, while Loki smiled and rubbed her back gently. 

“That wasn’t a bit funny,” Tony grumbled as he dropped to the floor, trying to be graceful. 

“It was kinda funny,” Thor replied. 

“Hmmm. You be sure that he doesn’t teach you bad habits,” Tony pointed at her before he and Steve left.

Thor gave Piper a wide smile and a wink before he also left. Loki drew her close to him and kissed the top of her head. 

“You did very well,” he told her, softly. 

“I owe it to you,” she replied. “Thank you so much.”

Loki tilted her face upwards before kissing her. Piper sighed and kissed him back. 

“You’re welcome,” he breathed against her lips.


End file.
